Bruce Mock's Koo Self Defense Page

My Training Diary




About Me

I was born and raised on the South side of Atlanta. My older brothers taught me to fight when I was 5-6 years old. I was not very good. I lost most of the fights. I tried boxing Golden Gloves one year in High School. I had good speed but lost due to a lack of power. None the less, I always had confidence and felt I owned my own personal space. I was in pretty good shape until about 40 years old; then I quit smoking and gained about 40 Lbs. I exercised until I was about 45 and then gave up. Ten years later, I was an out of shape 232 Lbs and got 'winded' carrying out the trash. I no longer felt confident. I felt vulnerable, slow and clumsy.

In January of 2001, a friend introduced me to Master Roger Koo's program at his studio in Downtown Cartersville, Metro Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I didn't know if it would work since I was so miserably out of shape. I decided to try for 30 days and see what happened.


The First Month of Training

On the 15th of January 2001, I started training under Master Roger Koo, exercised 3 times per week for about 1 - 1 1/4 hours. The 1st session on Monday was very difficult. I could hardly walk the next day and wondered if I had made a mistake. When I exercised Wednesday, I was very sore before and after. I made it through another session Friday and spent most of the weekend on the sofa with multiple hot pads. The first week was hell.

The second week was a little better but I was really sore most of the time.

By week 3, some great changes started. I would be sore before exercising, but not after. The program got better and better for me and by week 4 I felt more in shape than I had felt in years. My wind and stamina was improving and I was losing about 1 lb. per week.


The Second Month of Training Onwards

At the end of the eighth week, I earned my Yellow Belt, a good accomplishment. I could see incremental improvement every week following, including now which is my 10th week. Tonight I stayed for most of 1 1/2 training sessions which took about 1 1/2 hours.

It is amazing after only 10 weeks, my stamina has improved drastically, I am learning power that I never had before, my lower back does not hurt constantly (used to suffer from backaches), I have more energy and most importantly, I feel good about me again. I feel confident and fit and I own my own space again. I can only imagine how good I will be by the end of the year.

My goal is to stay fit and lose 32 lbs. I started at 232 lbs. and I am down to 225. My ultimate goal is to reach and maintain at 200 lbs. The only change I have made in my diet is eliminating unnecessary fat and slightly reducing my portions.

I am a very active 54 year old and I must maintain my own physical health to support my lifestyle. My family has been very supportive as they understand that being physically fit and able to do the things I want to do are extremely important to my happiness and success in life.

This is the first exercise program I have ever experienced which delivers so must drastic improvement so fast. I have been plagued by tendonitis most of my life, but have not had trouble with it on this program.

I highly recommend it for anyone needing to improve physically. I have decided to make this a permanent lifestyle change.

The third month of training (3/15/2001 - 4/15/2001)

March was a transition month for me. I went from being a person who never exercised to one who believes it is the only way to weight control and good health. The workouts became invigorating rather than exhausting. I found myself extending my workouts by 10 - 20 minutes to do more crunches or lift weights. I realized during the month that KSD training teaches that the best defense is a good offense. We do not practice 'blocking' moves; we practice fast and powerful punches and kicks. Disable your opponent quickly and you do not need defense.

My fitness increases each week. I lost 10 lbs. by the end of March and 13 lbs. by mid April. I know I will 'plateau' again probably around 220 lb. but feel confident I will reach my goal of 200 lb. by the end of the year. The exercise bicycle I bought the 1st week of January is really handy; I rode it twice the first week of January but haven't used it since then. It is in my bedroom. I use the handle of the bike to hang my workout bag which contains my KSD workout uniform.

Tragic News

Bruce Mock was involved in an automobile accident on his way down to Florida on Vacation on Saturday, June 9, 2001. The accident involved 20 vehicles near Valdosta, Georgia due to a heavy downpour of rain (related to Tropical Storm 'Allison'). His car was hit from behind by a fully loaded 18 wheelers. Sadly, his wife was killed on impact. Bruce survived for one week remaining unconscious at Grady Memorial Hospital until he passed away on Sunday, June 16, 2001.

Bruce had set a goal of losing at least 40 lbs. of weight and to get physically fitter. He trained very hard to achieve his goal and before his departure for vacation, he has lost 17 lbs.

Everyone who has trained with Bruce at the Cartersville's Koo Self Defense studio will greatly miss him as he was a very fun person to work with.

Bruce was one of the manager for Shaw Industires at one of their biggest plant on Hwy 411, Cartersville and lived in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Sign Guestbook View Guestbook


Click on Photo to enlarge. To view other photos, go to the Photo Album Page.



This Site was updated June 20, 2001

[ Home ] [ Photo Album ] [ Koo Self Defense Int'l H.Q ]